Oh, the humanity! Well, technically the lack thereof, actually. 3news reports that a popular TV broadcast that was hoping to provide a live stream from a newly discovered planet was blocked by BBC higher-ups. Why? Because IF there are aliens, they might swear on national TV, and since they can’t filter for it they can’t allow it.
Shaun Keaveny, who wanted to run the steam on his program, I think summarized up up best:
“The idea that intelligent life could be discovered and it might swear and that’s why we wouldn’t broadcast it — it’s such a BBC thing, isn’t it?’’
I mean, come on BBC. To even come close to this being a real concern we’d have to…
1. Find actual alien life in the first place,
2. Figure out what language they’re using, if any, then
3. Determine which words were swears so they could be filtered out.
Basically it’s equal to them saying, “We don’t care if we could be showing the first signs of alien life on another planet. If they say something bad, we don’t care how much of a milestone in human civilization it would be.”
Heck, if it were me, I’d be blaring Reggie Watts’ “F*ck Sh!t Stack” and blare it on repeat 24/7 if it could confirm extraterrestrial life.
By the way, FYI, the song lives up to its name, so do not watch if you’re sensitive to harsh language.